Chapter 14
WARNING: This chapter contains mature content!
"What is all this?" Nick asked as Alex entered the kitchen on Wilgul. Alex fumbled with the box he was holding in his hands, but finally found the edge of the table and placed it. He looked at Nick and smiled - he had to tell him about his big plan to propose to Claire tonight, if he were to get him out of the house.
"You won't believe this mate" he said and pulled out the little red box with the diamond ring inside. "No way" Nick said as he saw the ring in Alex's hand. "You kidding me?" he asked and got up from the chair.
"Nah mate! What do you think - Reckon she like it?" Alex asked his brother that was busy studying the ring in the box. "I think she'll love it" Nick said and clapped his brother on the shoulder. He couldn't believe his big brother and Claire were getting married in the nearest future. He smiled from the happiness that surrounded Alex and walked to the sink, to refill his glass of water. "But you still didn't tell me what all this is" Nick said and started rummaged through the box on the table.
"I'm going to prepare a special dinner for Claire tonight - I'm gonna ask the question tonight" Alex said and started to unpack the groceries from the box. "So in order for me to do so, I need you to be out of our way" he said and turned his head to Nick. "You sure are something" Nick laughed and shook his head "and what if I have plans?" he continued. Alex looked at him, what was he on about - him, plans?
"Well, I would say this is a bit more important than your plan on staying in and watch the telly, don't you think?" Alex teased him. Nick shook his head and took a last sip of water before pouring the rest out, in the sink. There was no point in trying to talk him out of it, he simply had to give up Wilgul for the night. "Whatever mate, just remember to clean up after yourself" Nick laughed and clapped Alex on the back on his way out of the kitchen. "I think you should take your own advise" Alex shouted at him as he grabbed one of Nick's dirty old t-shirts from the chair beside him. He frowned at it when it appeared to him he was holding dirty clothes in his hand - He took a look around the kitchen, he would definitely need to clean this place up before Claire's arriving. If it was up to him he would have done the dinner at Drover's but he couldn't get everybody out of their way, without revealing his big plans and he really wanted to be alone with Claire tonight. He had asked Tess to look after Charlotte for the night, with the excuse he wanted to take Claire on a date - well in theory it was a date, with a bit more to follow. He suddenly got nervous at the thought of proposing to her, what should he say and should he kneel down or just ask her at the table? There was so many question racing through his head, he had never been so nervous in his life. He shook his head to get rid of the nervousness and instead filled his head with thoughts about his life with Claire and little Charlotte, he smiled when he thought about their time in Melbourne, just the three of them - it had been perfect. As much as he loved the others at Drover's he sometime missed being alone with Claire, there was always someone around them.
"I'm off then - Good luck mate" The sound of Nick's voice interrupted his thoughts. He walked Nick out and watched him drive off in his ute for the rest of the day and night - where too he didn't quite know, probably Harry and mum, but that was a thing he couldn't think about right now. He needed to get this place cleaned up a bit and then he had to start on the cooking, which wasn't his strongest side.
Claire had just finished putting the last touch on her clothes she was going to wear for her date with Alex tonight, when Tess came in sight in the door holding Charlotte in her arms. "You can't wear that Claire" she said and walked into the bedroom. Claire looked down at herself in the mirror before turning her head to Tess. "What's wrong with this?" she asked a bit in self defense.
"You are going on a date. You can't wear your party jeans" Tess said and placed Charlotte in the middle of the bed, making sure she was as far away from the edge as possible. "It's a date .. with Alex, Tess" Claire said. She didn't understand why she couldn't wear these jeans to a date with Alex, it wouldn't even be anything fancy - and beside, he knew her, so she didn't need to impress him or anything. Tess shook her head, she would never understand her sister's way of thinking but she refused to let her go to Wilgul wearing party jeans and a shirt. "You stay here. I have a couple of options" Tess said and vanished from the room. Claire rolled her eyes at Tess's back, she knew what options meant. It meant she had to wear a dress, a dress that most likely wasn't her style. She sighed and made her way over to the bed where Charlotte was lying. "I'm gonna miss you tonight" Claire said and stroke her daughter's cheek. It would be the first night away from her and she wasn't looking forward to it, but she knew she was in good hands with Tess.
"Try this on" Tess said and threw a long black dress her way. Claire picked it up in her hands and studied it and then looked at Tess with a look that asked her if she was serious. "Go on" Tess hurried her and placed herself on the bed with Charlotte. Claire shook her head and started to take her clothes off, no good would come out of her arguing over the dress with Tess. Tess couldn't help to notice her sister was wearing some casual white undies and cursed at her inside of her head - she didn't really know how to dress for a date, did she?
Claire got the dress on with the help from Tess to sip the back. She stared at herself for a moment or two in the mirror, she hate to admit it, but she kinda liked the dress - it was more her style, not like the tight thing she wore at her bachelorette party. The dress still complimented her body figure very well, even though it was a bit loose in it. The dress only had two small straps to protect her shoulders. She turned her back to the mirror to look at how the dress looked from behind, she turned the front to the mirror once again and her leg peaked out from the opening that started from the bottom of the dress and ended at her thigh. "Wow Claire. You look .. " her eyes met Tess's in the mirror "Good?" she asked. "No. Fantastic" Tess said and stood beside her. A smile spread itself across Claire's face, she had never felt this pretty before. "But are you sure it isn't too much?" she asked Tess with a worried look on her face, it was Alex after all. "No, it's perfect Claire - But we do however have to talk about that underwear" Tess said and frowned at her.
"What is wrong with my underwear?" Claire asked, she was beginning to feel a bit attacked on her clothing. "Well, nothing .. If you are 50 or something like that" Tess said and sent her a joking look. "I have the" Tess said, but couldn't finish her sentence before Claire interrupted her. "Let me guess, the perfect set for the occasion". Tess smiled and shook her head before making another trip into her room, to find Claire a nice set of lingerie. Her eyes gazed through her drawer when she saw in the corner of her eye, and she spotted a bag on the chair - she had just bought a brand new piece of underwear online. She picked it up and studied it for a second in her hands, this would be perfect - A light purple, it would give some colour in contrast to the black dress. "Here, you can keep it" Tess said as she walked back into Claire's room with the underwear in her hands. "I'm gonna put Charlotte down, while you finish getting ready" she said and left the room with Charlotte on her hip.
Before leaving her room Claire took one final look at herself in the mirror - She actually look really good, maybe she should start taking an interest in clothing? She shook her head, nah. It wouldn't do her any good with the work anyway. Everybody lost their words as Claire got in sight in the kitchen and she instantly felt a little shy and she could feel her cheeks turn a bit red. "Alex is sure gonna be over the moon when he sees you" Meg said and walked closer to Claire. She studied both Claire and the dress, she had never seen her in anything like that before, she was absolutely gorgeous to look at. "Well, I better get going" Claire said and sent them all a shy smile, she couldn't wait to get out of there, all of the stares that made her the center of attention was beginning to make her too uncomfortable.
He heard the car park outside and he rushed to the mirror in the bathroom, to make sure he looked presentable. He gave himself the clear before walking to the porch and greet Claire. He was left speechless as she got out of the car, she was absolutely stunning to look at and she took his breath away - He had never seen her in a dress like this, she was beautiful and sexy to look at. He could feel and see she wasn't as comfortable in the dress as she looked, and that made her even more attractive. He slowly started to walk towards her and he couldn't help but smile. How lucky could a man be, to get a woman like her?
"You look absolutely beautiful tonight" he said as he took her hand and kissed it. Claire frowned at him and laughed, she felt so out of place in this dress but seeing Alex react this way was worth it and she sent a silent thank you to Tess in her thoughts. Alex guided Claire into the house and closed the door behind them. "You have really outdone yourself" Claire said as she saw the table with the lit candles and fresh flowers he had arranged. She turned around to look at him and found him gazing at her. "You look .. so stunning" Alex said and walked closer to her and placed one of his hands on the side of her head "I'm lost for words" he continued before giving her a gentle kiss on the lips. Claire had never seen him like this before, maybe she should reconsider her thought about clothing from earlier. "I just need to go check on the food" he said and pulled away from her. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked and followed him. "No, I got it - beside, you can't cook even if you tried" he joked, trying to make them both relax more. "Well, you can't either" Claire said in self defense and placed her hands in the side. "But I just did, didn't I?" he said and send her a teasing look. She shook her head and a small laugh got out, 1-0 to Alex Ryan. "But you can place that sweet bum of yours at the table" he said as he closed the oven. "Aye aye captain" Claire joked before leaving the kitchen. He was almost done with everything, he just needed to arrange the food on the plates. He patted himself on his chest to make sure the ring still was in the pocket of his white shirt.
"Dinner is served" he said as he placed one of the plates in front of Claire. He quickly went back to the kitchen and unbottled two beers - none of them liked wine and a beer would make the whole situation more relaxed, and he definitely needed that. "I hope the beer doesn't kill the romance" he said and reached her the beer. Claire laughed, no it definitely didn't. "It looks really good Alex" she said and looked at her plate with a nicely cut piece of meat, a salad at the side and some roasted potatoes. She didn't have the slightest idea he could cook and she suspected he had gotten a little help, from Liz - but it tasted and looked really good nonetheless. Throughout the meal they kept laughing and joking as they used too and it made Alex feel a lot less nervous about him popping the question to her. He tried to find the right time to get the ring out but he couldn't figure out when that would be, so after 10 minutes of fumbling through his words in his head he decided now was as good as ever. He pulled out his chair and walked to Claire's side, took her hand and asked for her to get up as well. She didn't quite understand why but she did it, without any questions - She could see he was feeling a bit on edge all of the sudden. "Claire .. " He said and stopped. He kept his stare at her eyes "You are the one person, I can always be honest around and you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. You have giving me more than I could ever wish or hope for, a beautiful daugher .. a life with you - I love you more than anything. I've wasted so many years being in denial of what I really felt for you, I don't want to waste another day" he stopped, the next words didn't come easy to him. He took a deep breath and kneeled down in front of her. His heart was racing and he could feel his hand shiver as he went to take the ring out of his pocket. "Claire Louise McLeod. Will you do me the honor and be my wife?".
Claire's heart stopped and skipped a beat before returning to it's normal rhythm. Was this really happening, was Alex Ryan really on his knees in front of her. She gathered her thoughts and got back to reality, she couldn't believe this. "Alex" she said with a gentle voice. She didn't even question her thoughts, all she wanted was being with him. "There isn't anything that would make be happier" she said and smiled. At first he looked at bit confused at her, was it a yes or? "Yes Alex, I will marry you". He couldn't believe it, it all started to feel so unreal and his heart exploded of happiness. He finally understood her answer and tears began to make their way to his eyes, he got up on both feet and met her in a big kiss and hugged her so tight it lifted her from the ground. "I didn't think I could get any happier, but you just proved me wrong" he said as he got her back on the ground again and placed the ring on her finger. Claire couldn't help but smile as she wiped small tears away from her eyes, making sure not to ruin the makeup. "I can't believe you planned all this" she said and looked at the ring Alex had placed on her finger. Her heart melted at the thought of her spending the rest of her life with the man she had loved as long as she could remember - She didn't use to believe in soulmates, but Alex had proven to be hers, without a doubt.
"I hate to ruin the romance, but I really have to use the toilet - the beers are running right through me" he said. Claire laughed at him "Well, you did get down a bunch".
"Well I had to do something to calm my nerves" he said and kissed her on the cheek before finding his way to the bathroom. Claire still had trouble grasping her head around what had happened 10 minutes ago, she was engaged - it felt so unrealistic. She took the plates from the table and made her way to the sink in the kitchen, she could make herself useful as she waited for Alex to get back. She found herself gazing out the window, thinking about how happy she was when Alex sneaked up on her from behind. It made her startle a bit when he placed his hands around her. "You didn't have to clear the table" he said and kissed her neck. "It was the least I could do, you went through so much trouble tonight" Claire said and turned around to face him. "I just wanted everything to be perfect" he said and looked into those eyes he always got lost in. "It was more than perfect" she said and placed her hands around his neck and kissed him on the lips, before focusing on his eyes again. His eyes suddenly changed from overflowing with happiness to exude desire. "What?" Claire asked with a small laugh as he kept his stare at her. "You are just doing things to me Claire" he said in a deep almost silent voice. Doing things to him? She was just standing there looking at him. He went in for another kiss on her lips, this time he made sure the kiss lasted longer than before. As he pulled away Claire felt the exact same feeling as he did, his kiss had made her desire him even more. She quickly took his head between her hands and embraced him in a deep kiss, letting their tongues explore each other's mouths while dancing. Alex pushed himself closer to Claire, trapping her between him and the counter. He placed one of his hands on her back to push her even closer to him - at this point she couldn't be close enough. The warmth from his hand and the touch of his finger, made Claire scream inside. She couldn't get enough of him. She kept pressing her body towards Alex's, longing to feel him. Alex's hand found it's way to the opening in the dress and started to caress her bare leg, which filled Claire's body with even more desire. He felt the warmth from her skin as he stroke his hand up and down her leg, by now he couldn't get enough of her. He gently lifted her leg and placed it around his waist, Claire soon followed with the other herself. He broke their kiss and looked at her with a seductive smile. They kept each other's stare as he started to unzip her dress, he gently pulled the straps down from her shoulders and kissed every inch of skin they touched. Alex could feel the pressure rising and he wasn't able to hold back anymore as Claire took a hand through his hair. "Oh my, Mr. Ryan" she said as she felt his erection against her. She freed her grip around his waist with her legs and let herself put her weight on them again. She started to let the dress slide down her body as she looked Alex flirtatiously in the eyes - it droved him crazy, she could see it. She took a step out of the dress and walked towards him, in nothing but the purple lingerie and her high heels. She was biting her lip as she cornered him and started to unbutton his shirt. She made sure to unbutton each button very slowly, knowing Alex hated it and he wasn't able to retain himself for much longer. As Alex felt the last button get unbuttoned, he pulled his shirt off and pulled Claire in for another exploring of each other's mouths. With great speed and force he lifted her from the ground, forcing her legs to lock themselves around him. He kept kissing her as he walked to the kitchen table and placed her on the edge of it - Claire was feeling his lust now as well and found her way to his pants, it took both her hands to unzip them and pull them down. Alex stopped his kissing and looked at her for a second, it left Claire restless. All she wanted was to feel his kiss and touch against her. "On your feet" he ordered her in a gentle way and took her hand in his and turned her around so her back was facing him. He placed his hand at the small of her back and gently made her bend over, leaving her arms to support her on the table. He bite his lip before letting a caressing hand run all the way from her neck to her bum. His touch made her shiver and was leaving goosebumps behind on every inch of bare skin he came across. He kneeled down and planted a gentle kiss on each of her buttocks before getting to his feets once again. Claire had never felt like this before, she had never been in so much longing for Alex to touch her and she didn't understand where all of this was coming from - but at this point she was too occupied to question it. Alex kissed her neck while his hands found their way to her undies, making sure his fingers danced on her skin as he pulled them down to her knees. He moved closer to her, so close that Claire could feel all of him against her bare bottom section. She let out a small moan as she felt his erection on her skin. She turned around to face him and placed her hands on his back. "Kiss me" she begged him and pulled him closer. He did what she asked and placed his hands on the table, making Claire lean against it. She couldn't take this anymore, she needed him so badly and he kept teasing her with his touches. Her hands found their way to the elastic of his boxers and with her thumbs she managed to pull them down. He was standing completely naked in front of her now and she liked what she saw, she couldn't help but bite her lip and run her hands over his chest. Alex gently nipped her earlobe and in one movement he unhooked her bra and watched it fall to the ground. He took a second to admire her body, you couldn't see she just had had a baby 6 months ago - she was perfect. He met her in an intense kiss once again and lifted her legs to the side, making just enough room for him to get between them. One hand was massaging her breast while the other was keeping his weight, preventing his body from trapping Claire between him and the table. He pulled her a bit further out and as soon as he did that, he entered her making Claire's body give in for the lust and desire she was feeling. He kept going back and forth as he looked her in the eyes, he could see she was enjoying it and a smile crossed his face. Claire tightened her grip around him with her legs, she couldn't get close, she wanted to feel every inch of him, no, she needed to. The tightened grip invited him to go a bit faster than he was, which was a bit of a surprise to Alex. He leant in and kissed her on the mouth and felt Claire's nails leaving marks at his back. "You like this?" he asked her in a seductive way and made sure his pace was a bit faster and heavier - Claire didn't answer him, but she didn't had too, he could see it in her eyes. She really enjoyed it. He suddenly stopped his rhythm still in her. Claire opened her eyes and looked at him. "Oh please, don't stop" she said, begging him to continue. Alex smiled, he loved teasing her like this. "Let's go to the bedroom, make ourselves a bit more comfortable" he said and helped Claire on her feet.
As they got to the bedroom he picked up on his kissing from the kitchen once again, and in their wilderness they found their way to the bed - Claire made a gentle push on his shoulder, which made him lose his balance and fall backwards onto to the bed. Claire placed herself on top of him, feeling him slide into her once again. She smiled at him and their mouths met in an intense kiss. He was enjoying the view as she was riding him and his hands found their way to her breasts, caressing her nipples gently - he could feel she was on the verge of coming and he pulled her down on him for a kiss. She felt like her whole body exploded as the lust rushed through her entire body and she could help but moan out loud. Her wildness made it hard for Alex to retain himself for much longer and he could feel his ending was closing in on them. He tightened his grip around her waist and back, and he slowly began to let out small groans - he couldn't keep it for much longer. Claire smiled at him as she noticed were this was going. His eyes got big and he finally exploded followed by a long groan.
Claire lifted herself from him and rolled to her back, they were both dripping in sweat. For a few moments they just laid there, didn't say anything, both trying to catch their breath. Alex's hand found it's way to Claire's. "This was really .. "
"Good?" Claire interrupted and laughed. Alex laughed as well "More than good" he said and turned his head to her. Claire smiled at him and stroke his cheek - she was exhausted right now. Alex got up from the bed and found a new pair of boxers in the drawer and made his way to the bathroom. Claire reached for one of his shirts in his closet and covered herself up before making her way to the kitchen. She smiled for herself as her mind got back to where it all started earlier. She poured herself a glass of water and her eye noticed the ring on her finger. She had totally forgotten all about Alex proposal during sex. She was truly as happy as she could be right now, she smiled and took a sip of her water. She picked up her undies and slipped into them as Alex joined her in the kitchen. He kissed her on the top of her head and finished the rest of the water in her glass. He opened the refrigerator and took out two bowls of chocolate pudding with strawberries at the side. "I had planned on dessert as well" he said with a cheesy smile. Claire laughed and took one of the bowls in her hand. "Let's eat them in bed" she said and made her way back to the room.
She was almost asleep in his arms when he lifted his head so he could look at her. "Claire - never forget that I love you" his words filled her entire body with love and she kissed his chest before replying "I love you too"
The next morning they woke up to the sound of the phone ringing, it made Alex jump out of bed and rush to it. Claire rolled to the other side to check on the clock. It was already 8, she should be heading her way to Drover's soon - she had been away from Charlotte too long. She got out of bed and passed Alex at the phone in the living room. She picked up her bra from the floor in the kitchen and unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing and put the bra on. She replaced the shirt with the dress and waited for Alex to finish his conversation. "Are you trying to lead me astray once again, wearing that dress?" he said as he hung up the phone and walked to her side. Claire sent him a shy smile and couldn't help but bite her lip. "I need to get back, been away from Charlotte too long" she said and snuggled up in his arms. "Yeah, I'm driving you - I can't stand to be away from the little bundle of joy any longer" he said and gave Claire a quick kiss before going to his room and finding some clothes to put on.
"We should do this more often" Alex said as they pulled up at Drover's. "What? Getting engaged or have wild sex?" Claire joked. Alex smiled at her, hopefully a one time engagement was enough, but the sex though. "Clear your mind" Claire said and pushed him on the shoulder and laughed before leaving the car. Alex shook his head and freed himself from last night's event and followed Claire to the kitchen. They were all there, eating breakfast and having a laugh. "Oh there they are" Meg said as Alex and Claire got in sight. "Yeah sorry we are so late" Claire said and went straight to the highchair where Charlotte was sitting and enjoying her banana mush.
"Ooooh, I've missed you" Claire said and gave her daughter a kiss on the top of her head. "Have you guys eaten yet?" Meg asked and reached a plate to Alex. "Oh Meg, this looks good. Thank you" he said and pulled out a chair at the table. Claire placed herself by the high chair and reached for a plate as well. "What is that?" Jodi asked as Claire reached for a baby wipe to remove some mush from Charlotte's hand. "What?" Claire asked confused. Jodi couldn't believe what she was seeing on Claire's finger. "That" she said and pointed at the ring.
"Ooooh" Claire said, didn't know how to explain. She looked at Alex and a grin spread on both their faces. "What?" Tess joined in, she was curious now. Claire pulled out her hand in the air, making sure everyone could see the ring. "Omg - that is a ring" Tess said and her mouth dropped. She looked at Alex then at Claire. "Aaargh, this so great!" she said and pulled Claire in for a hug. "That's why you needed me to watch Charlotte all night - Why didn't you say anything Alex?" Tess asked and left her chair to give him a hug as well.
"Well, I wanted to be a surprise for everyone" he said as Tess let go of him. "You did a very good job at hiding it" Meg said with a smile as reached for Claire's hand to look at the ring up close. "I'm really happy for you two" Meg said and let go of Claire's hand. "Me too! What do you say BOM, mum and dad is getting married aigh" Tess said and switched her focus to Charlotte. "I want a ring like that when I'm getting engaged" Jodi said and drooled over the ring. "You already had a ring, remember?" Becky said and forced Jodi to remember Alberto. "Oh yeah. You are right" she said and got snapped out of her dreaming.
"So, when is the wedding?" Tess asked and looked at Claire. "Wow, easy now Tess - we haven't figured out any details yet" Claire said and shook her head. Tess was really high over heels, but the wedding wasn't something to be rushed. "I guess you'll be moving in then?" Meg asked Alex and poured herself a cup of tea. Alex looked at Claire, they hadn't even discussed it but it would make sense - he was practically at Drover's all the time anyway because of Charlotte and him and Claire's relationship. Claire smiled at him, of course he was moving in. "Yup" was all Alex said and leant back in the chair, resting his arm on the back of the Chair Becky was sitting on. His mind raced back to last night and he couldn't help smiling, it sure had been something wonderful. Claire caught his eyes and she instantly knew what he was thinking. She shook her head and smiled to him, before continuing her eating.
